The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales

Each morning, he Lion screams, “ME AND MYSELF, ME AND MYSELF” (5), so the little animals are scared to hunt, fish, or relax in the sunshine. After a brief meeting, the little animals get help from the wise and experienced Bruh Bear and Bruh Rabbit, who confront the lion in his lair. Bruh Rabbit asks he Lion not to yell in the morning, but he Lion doesn’t think Bruh Rabbit can tell him how to behave—he’s the king of the forest. Bruh Rabbit corrects him: Man is the king of the forest. He Lion turns to Bruh Bear and asks him about Man, but Bruh Bear, despite his experience, has never laid eyes on man. Begrudgingly, the lion returns to the rabbit, and after a day of thinking, he agrees to leave his lair so the rabbit can show him Man.

In a clearing, they see a nine-year-old child, and he Lion asks if the kid is Man; the rabbit explains that one day the child will be a man. Under a tree, they spot a sleeping 90-year-old, and Bruh Rabbit says the older person once was a man but isn’t now. On a road, they run into a strong 21-year-old with a gun, and Bruh Rabbit tells he Lion the 21-year-old is Man.